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More Than Culture Shifted On Wall Street

The role of finance in America's economy was clearly transformed over the past decade or so-and the economy hasn't necessarily been better for it, Justin Lahart reports on Mean Street. Photo: Associated Press.

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Justin Lahart

Updated March 16, 2012 3:45 p.m. ET

Whether Goldman Sachs has changed for the worse is the subject of furious debate, thanks to a former employee's now-famous claim that the firm has turned "toxic and destructive."

What is clear, though, is that the role of finance in America's economy was clearly transformed over the past decade or so—and the economy hasn't necessarily been better for it.